Softball: Meghan Kugler (Pope John Paul II) led the way for Immaculata going 5-for-7 with five RBI and five runs scored in two games as Immaculata claimed two decisive five-inning victories against Notre Dame of Maryland University Wednesday afternoon, 17-2 and 24-2, to sweep the Gators in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) action. Immaculata improves its record to 19-7 overall and 16-2 in the CSAC.

Kugler is batting .377 on the season while compiling 29 hits, 15 RBI and 26 runs scored.

Baseball: Saint Joseph’s scored in five of its eight at-bats on Saturday afternoon, blowing the game open with a five-run eighth en route to a 10-2 win over Dayton.

St. Joe’s Jordan Carter (Methacton) followed up his record-tying outing last week with another fine performance. The senior went the distance, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out eight and walking just one. Over his last 17 innings of work, the righthander has fanned 23 batters while walking just one.

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Field Hockey: Keystone’s Meg Fry (Spring-Ford) and Nichole Blank (Boyertown) were honored as the National Field Hockey Coaches Association announced the 2013 Gladiator by SGI/NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad. The National Academic Squad recognizes those student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher through the first semester of the 2013-14 academic year.

SOFTBALL

Division I

LaSalle’s Megan Hodgson (Owen J. Roberts) went 3-for-6 with a double, two runs and two walks as the Explorers swept a doubleheader against Rhode Island on Friday. The Explorers improved their A-10 record to 9-3 with the two victories.

Hodgson has appeared in all 32 games for the Explorers, leading the team in batting average (.333) while belting eight home runs and knocking in 26 RBI.

Villanova’s Jordan Prutzer (Methacton) has had a solid season thus far, compiling a 2.71 earned run average in 16 appearances. The freshman has struck out 18 in 31 innings of work for the Wildcats (4-8, 16-24 overall).

Division II

Mandi Baer (Daniel Boone) and Bloomsburg have won six of their last seven games dating back to April 10. The recent surge has propelled the Huskies to No. 2 in the PSAC East (10-6) behind West Chester (16-8). Baer has appeared in all 29 games for Bloomsburg, batting .268 with one home run and 11 RBI.

Jamie Smith (Boyertown) scored the lone run in East Stroudsburg’s Game 1 victory over Millersville on Friday. The Warriors blanked Millersville again in Game 2 to ensure their fourth win in five tries. Smith has been a big catalyst for the Warrior offense, batting .278 with six doubles and seven RBI.

After falling to West Chester by a wide margin in the first game of a doubleheader, Shippensburg and Kristen McClune (Methacton) rebounded with an 8-1 trumping of the Golden Rams on Friday in a “Strike Out Breast Cancer” Day at Robb Field.

In Game 1, Jess Norris (Spring-Ford) led the Golden Rams to a 10-1 victory, going 1-for-4 with one run scored.

Shippensburg (26-10, 12-8 PSAC East) and West Chester (29-16, 16-8) entered the day ranked No. 3 and No. 4 respectively in the NCAA Atlantic Region rankings and also atop the PSAC Eastern Division standings, with the Golden Rams remaining in first place after Saturday’s games and now in the position to observe this week as the rest of the league plays catch-up with its schedule.

Cabrini improved to 14-15 on the season with a pair of 8-0 and 8-1 victories over the visiting Valley Forge Christian College Patriots. The victories snapped a four game losing streak for the Cavaliers. Steph Diegel (Spring-Ford) went 3-for-5 with four RBI in the doubleheader sweep. Diegel is hitting .326 this season with two home runs and 27 RBI.

Franklin & Marshall struggled to find its offense while Dickinson played stellar defense in both contests on Saturday as the Diplomats dropped a 4-2 game before the Red Devils edged out F&M 1-0 in Game 2 in Centennial Conference action. Malorie Sassaman (Pottstown) was one of the F&M seniors that were honored before the game on senior day. Sassaman went 4-for-6 with one RBI.

BASEBALL

Division II

Thomas Romano (Phoenixville) went 2-for-6 with two runs scored and one RBI as Kutztown totaled 16 runs on its way to a (PSAC) East doubleheader sweep over Lock Haven on Friday.

Zach Wasson (Boyertown) pitched 5.2 innings for Kutztown in the nightcap against Lock Haven, picking up his first victory of the season. He struck out four batters with no walks while allowing five hits as the Golden Bears topped LHU 1-0.

On Saturday, the same two teams met for a doubleheader and Kutztown swept again, Pat Flynn (West-Mont Christian) earning his first career collegiate victory in the process. After the Golden Bears took Game 1, 5-1, Flynn tossed six innings, allowing one run while striking out five and walking two to lead Kutztown to an 11-2 win.

Already with a ticket to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament punched, Joey Casselberry (Methacton) and Bloomsburg had a history-making day Saturday afternoon as the Huskies established a new record for most PSAC victories in a season with a thrilling come-from-behind, extra innings 7-6 win over East Stroudsburg.

Casselberry went 2-for-3 with one RBI in the Game 1 victory. He has 23 RBI on the season.

Bloomsburg now stands 25-15 overall and 17-7 in the PSAC East, breaking the old mark of 16 conference wins which had stood since the 1997 team finished with a 16-8 record against the PSAC East.

Division III

Centennary’s Nick Koffel (Perkiomen Valley) went 1-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI as the team topped Gwynedd Mercy 10-1 in Game 2 of a twinbill on Saturday. Koffel is batting .305 with 25 runs scored and 13 RBI this season.

About the Author

Sam Stewart is a sports writer for The Mercury. A Perkiomen Valley and Shippensburg University graduate, he is in his first year at The Mercury. He is the founder of “On the Road” Productions, an online video series that details anything and everything involving high school sports. Reach the author at sstewart@pottsmerc.com
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